“Thank you,” I managed. I swallowed and straightened my shoulders. I was ready. “Where is he?”
Cole cocked his head down the hall.
I nodded once and took the first step toward ending this.
Tim sat tied to a chair, his head hung low. Axel stood behind him, his arms crossed, looking imposing as all hell. He kicked the chair roughly. “Wake up, asshole,” he growled.
Tim’s head bobbed in a slow bid to wake up. One of his eyes was swollen shut, his lip bleeding. He looked around the room blearily, appearing to try to make sense of his surroundings.
When his gaze landed on me, it took a moment to register. Then, with an angry cry, he lunged.
I lurched back into Cal’s body as his arm shot out, moving me protectively behind him.
With his hands tied behind the chair Tim was only able to get two paces before he fell awkwardly onto his side.
I couldn’t have orchestrated it better myself.
“You want him up?” Axel asked me.
He was putting me in charge here—in front of Tim. Words couldn’t have conveyed my gratitude.
I shook my head, stepping out from behind Cal. “No, leave him on the ground where he belongs.”
“I made you,” Tim spat. “You were nothing before me. You came from nothing.”
Cal tensed beside me but remained silent. I knew it cost him. I also understood what he conveyed in his silence. He understood that I needed this. His silence screamed out his love for me in a way words never could.
I leaned over Tim. “I was going to be something from the moment I took my first breath. I’ve proven that every day since I left where I came from, when I put myself through nursing school. Every day that I dealt with your abuse.” I glared down at him, my heart pounding and fists clenched. “And then every gorgeous day that I’ve gotten to be Mason’s mama. You didn’t make me,” I sneered. “You tried to destroy me. But you can’t.” I smiled then. “You won’t ever have that chance again.”
“You’ll never be rid of me. I own you.”
I scoffed. “You never owned me.Iown me. And I say this is the last time you breathe my air. This is the last time you see my face. I’ve been ready to move on from you since the moment you laid a hand on me.” I turned to look back at Cal, his eyes bright with emotion I couldn’t place as he watched me. “You see,” I continued, my eyes still on Cal, “I’ve found a man who’s taught me how a real man treats a woman.” I turned back to Tim, who was snarling in frustration. “I’ve found a man who knows how to be a father to my son.”
“My son,” Tim snarled.
I shook my head. “The moment you raised a hand to me, he stopped being yours. I stopped being yours. Your violence and your absence saw to that. We’re done. We’ve been done. Whether or not you’d ever signed the papers, that would have been true.”
My chest heaved as the moment I’d thought about countless times became reality. The moment where I got to look Tim in the face and show him the kind of woman I really was. The kind of woman I’d always been but had lost along the way. Vindication raced through my veins like a drug.
“You never had me. Not even a piece.” I shook my head. I looked back at Cal, my gaze softening. “Only one person’s been able to put my pieces together,” I murmured, knowing only Cal would know what I meant.
I watched my man’s gaze soften as he nodded once, stating without words that he understood. I cocked my head to the side, knowing I must look frightful and more than ready to clean myself up. “Ready to go home?” I asked quietly.
His eyes smoldered as he pulled me to his body, ignoring Tim’s frustrated cries of protest. “I’m gonna be a bit longer here, darlin’. Why don’t you head on out with Scarlet? I’ll meet you at their house and we’ll head home together.”
We didn’t need one of the guys to follow us. It was safe. The realization nearly made me dizzy with relief.
I nodded, disappointed that he wasn’t coming with me but understanding why. I wasn’t going to ask what came next for Tim. I’d said my piece, Cal had seen to that. The rest was his to deal with as he saw fit.
He kissed me soundly before pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m right behind you, darlin’.” He knew I needed him.
“Okay,” I breathed. I looked up at him as his large hands cradled my neck. “It’s over,” I murmured triumphantly.
“It’s over,” he agreed.
It was just the two of us in that moment. Tim’s thrashing and threats didn’t register, nor did Axel growling at him to shut the fuck up. It was just us celebrating a victory hard won. One that meant we got to move forward. As a family.
I was finally free.
